Method and apparatus for cutting and hemming cloth lengths

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for cutting and hemming cloth lengths wherein a continuous supply of cloth is fed along a first path to a cutting and transfer station, a predetermined length of cloth is cut from the supply and transferred to a second path extending approximately at a right angle to the first path, a first cut end of the cloth length is hemmed, the cloth length is folded across its length so that its second cut end overlaps the hemmed end, and the second cut end is hemmed.

United States Patent Burton [451 Feb. 8, 1972 [54] METHOD AND APPARATUSFOR CUTTING AND HEMMING CLOTH LENGTHS [72] Inventor: Perry E. Burton,Atlanta, Ga

[73] Assignee: Burton 8: Noonan [22] Filed: June 5, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.:43,756

[52] US. Cl. ..112/121-29, 271/74, 270/69,

112/147, 112/D1G. 2 [51 Int. Cl. ..D05b 33/00, D051) 35/08 [58]Fleldofseareh ..l12/121.29,121.11,121.12,

1l2/121.l5, 10, 203, 262,147,141;270/69, 61, 66, 86; 271/74;214/1 AB, 1BB, 1 BC, 1 BD, 1 BT,1 BV, 1 BE; 93/84; 156/443, 444, 204

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,469,887 9/1969 Nakahara eta1 ..214/1 AB X Gastonguay Noiles Primary Examiner-James R. BolerAttomey-Jones & Thomas 1 7 ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for cuttingand hemming cloth lengths wherein a continuous supply of cloth is fedalong a first path to a cutting and transfer station, a predeterminedlength of cloth is cut from the supply and transferred to a second pathextending approximately at a right angle to the first path, a first cutend of the cloth length is hemmed, the cloth length is folded across itslength so that its second cut end overlaps the hemmed end, and thesecond cut end is hemmed.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SHEET 1 0f 3 INVENTOR PERRY E. BURTON TEUFE 81972 .IIUU 2 OF 3 IIIIIII lllllllllo flliliii l|lll|o PERRY E.BURTON ATTORNEYS MEIED FEB 8|972 350235 SHEET 3 a? 3 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR CUTTING AND HEMMING CLOTH LENGTHS BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION In the manufacture of cloth lengths, such as towels, diapers,wiping rags, etc., the cloth lengths are usually manufactured by cuttinglengths of cloth from a substantially continuous supply of the cloth andthe cut ends of the cloth lengths are hemmed to prevent the ends fromraveling. In the past, the cloth lengths were processed through a sewingmachine by hand with the operator guiding the cut ends of the clothlengths through the machine. While some automated machinery has beendeveloped to relieve the machine operators from continuous and closeobservation and control of the machines used for hemming the clothlengths, it has usually been necessary for the cut lengths of cloth tobe cut, accumulated in a stack, and then fed into a sewing machine inseparate steps, which requires the manual handling of the cloth lengthsbetween and during the separate steps.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described the present inventioncomprises a method and apparatus for cutting and hemming lengths ofcloth from a substantially continuous supply of cloth in a continuousunbroken mechanical process without requiring the manual handling of thecloth lengths between the steps of cutting and hemming. The clothlengths are cut from the continuous supply of cloth and moved at a rightangle with respect to the length of the continuous supply withoutchanging the attitude of the cloth lengths so that the cloth lengthsmove in a path parallel to the cut ends. This direction of movementfacilitates the step of hemming the cut ends as they are continuouslymoved through this path. Moreover, in order that only right handedhemming machines be utilized to hem both out ends of the cloth lengths,one cut end is hemmed as the cloth lengths move through their path, theother cut end is folded across the hemmed end, and the other cut end ishemmed by the second machine which is a duplicate of the first machine.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus for cutting and hemming the cut ends of lengths of cloth in acontinuous process.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, durableand versatile apparatus for rapidly and accurately cutting and hemmingthe cut ends of cloth lengths.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification, when takeninto conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FEG. 1 is a schematic illustration ofthe process of cutting and hemming lengths of cloth from a continuoussupply of cloth.

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the apparatus utilized in theprocess of cutting and hemming the cut ends of lengths of cloth from acontinuous supply of cloth.

FIG. 3 is a schematic representationof an alternate form of theapparatus shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in more detail tothe drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout theseveral views, FIG. 2 shows cloth cutting and hemming apparatus which isto perform the process disclosed in FIG. 1. As is illustrated in FIG. 1,a continuous supply of cloth is taken from a supply source such as alarge reel 11 and moved through a first path 12 by pull rollers 14 andby feed roller 15 beneath cutting means, such as shear knife 16, onto acutting table or transfer table 18. The lengths of cloth fed to transfertable 18 are cut by shear knife 16 and moved toward a second path oftravel 19 by transfer means, such as transfer arm 20, onto a conveyorwithout changing the attitude of the cloth lengths. As the cloth lengths17 are moved along the second path 19, a first cut end or edge' 20 ofthe cloth length is trimmed by a first trimming means 21 which is a partof a sewing machine 22, and hemmed by the first sewing machine 22. Inthe meantime, the center portions of the cloth lengths 17 pass beneathfolding rod 24.

As the cloth lengths 17 leave sewing machine 22, the chain of stitching25 extending back from end 20 is cut by chain cuttingmeans 26. Also, astream of air intermittently blows across path 19 and flips the othercut end 28 of the lengths of cloth 17 over folding rod 24. The spacingof folding rod 24 with respect to the path 19 and the cloth lengths issuch that the cut-ends 28 will be moved beyond their cut ends 20 in anoverlapping relationship and will be exposed for trimming and hemming.The cloth lengths 17 move off the end of folding rod 24 andare trimmedand hemmed by second trimming means 31 and second sewing machine 32. Thechain stitching 35 is cut by chain cutting means 36.

As is illustrated in FIG. 2, pull rollers 14 grip the continuous supplyof cloth extending from reel 11 and rotate in the direction indicated byarrows 38 to move the continuous supply of cloth around pivotableJ-shaped feed tray 37 and onto feed table 39. Feed roller 15 continuesthe movement of V the continuous supply of cloth across the table 39 andonto the transfer platform 40 of transfer table 18. As the supply ofcloth passes from feed roller 15 to transfer platform 40, it passesbeneath the blade of shear knife 16 which is pivotally held at one end41 by a fulcrum and is driven at its other end 42 by means of pneumaticcutting ram 44.

A source of pressurized air 45 communicates with pneumatic cutting ram44 through control valve 46 and conduits 48, 49, and 51. When valvespool 52 is moved to the left (FIG. 2) ,the source of pressurized air 45flows through conduits 48 and 50 to retract pneumatic cutting ram 44 andshear knife 16, while conduits 51 and 49 are opened to the atmospherethrough the valve housing. When the valve spool 52 is shifted in theother direction, the source of pressurized air 45 communicates throughconduits 49 and 51 to extend pneumatic cutting ram 44 and move shearknife 16 in a downward direction to cut a length of cloth, whileconduits 50 and 48 are opened to the atmosphere through the valvehousing.

Valve- 46 is controlled by solenoid 54 and solenoid 54 is controlled byelectric eyes 55 and 57 which respond to the presence or absence oflight. Electric eyes 55 and 57 are spaced above or below the surface oftransfer platform 40 while the light sources are placed on the oppositeside of the platform-from the electric eyes. Transfer platform 40 istranslucent and can be fabricated from various glass or plasticsubstances, such as plexiglass, to allow the light emanated from thelight-sources to be received in electric eyes 55 and 57 so that theelectric eyes function to control the movements of the apparatus as willbe more fully described hereinafter.

Transfer arm 20 comprises an upper rigid arm 58 and a lower resilientstrip or insert 59. Insert 59 can be fabricated from various plyable andflexible materials such as neoprene, spongerubber, hard rubber, or thevarious other rubber and plastic substances. Transfer arm 20 isconnected to the rod 60 of transfer ram 61. Transfer ram 61 is connectedat its base end to rigid support member 62 in such a manner that it isfree to move, at least to a limited extent, horizontally across andtransfer platform 40 and toward and away from transfer platform 40.jTheother end of transfer ram 61 is supported and moved upwardly anddownwardly by the rod 64 of engaging ram 65. Adjusting arm 66 forms atriangle between rigid support member 62 and transfer ram 61 and theadjusting nuts 68 are effective to alter the length of adjusting arm 66lso as to pivot transfer ram 61 about its base end and adjust thedirection of movement of its rod 60 and transfer arm 20 across transferplatform 40. Normally, transfer ram 61 will be adjusted to move transferarm 20 in a direction which is approximately 60 from the direction ofmovement of the cloth in path 12.

Transfer ram 61 and engaging ram are connected by means of conduits 69and 70 and 71 and 72 to conduits 48 and 49 of valve 46. When valve spool52 is moved by means of solenoid 54 to the left, (FIG. 2), the source ofair pressure 45 flows through conduits 48, 70 and 71 to lift and retracttransfer arm 19. In the meantime, conduits 49, 69 and 72 are opened tothe atmosphere through valve housing 46. When solenoid 54 is deenergizedthe spring in valve housing 46 shifts valve spool 56 to the right (FIG.2) so that the source of air pressure 45 communicates through conduits49, 69, and 72 to move transfer arm down into engagement with transferplatform 40 and to extend the transfer arm which causes it to moveacross transfer platform 40.

Solenoid 54 and valve spool 52 function in response to electric eyes 55and 57. As the leading end of the continuous supply of cloth is fed fromreel 11 onto transfer platform 40, the cloth first blocks the light toelectric eye 57 and subsequently blocks the light to electric eye 55.When electric eye 57 is first blocked, its circuit to relay 53 is open,so that it does not cause a function in the system. When the light toelectric eye 55 is subsequently blocked, it energizes relay 53 to openthe circuit made to feed roll motor 56 and solenoid 54. This terminatesthe operation of motor 56 and causes solenoid 54 to shift valve spool 52to the left (FIG. 2), so that shear knife 16 functions to cut the clothnd transfer arm 20 moves down into engagement with the cut length ofcloth and moves the cut length across transfer platform 40. When thecontact of relay 53 is lifted, it closes the circuit between electriceye 57 and relay 53 to form a holding circuit. When transfer arm 20moves the cut length of cloth across transfer platform 40, electric eye55 will again be exposed to light, so that its circuit to relay 53 isopened; however, the holding circuit made through electric eye 57 withrelay 53 keeps the relay contact open to motor 56 and solenoid 54 untiltransfer arm 20 moves the cloth far enough to expose electric eye 57 toits light source. When electric eye 57 is exposed in this manner, itscircuit to relay 53 is opened which allows the relay contact to drop andclose the circuit to motor 56 and solenoid 54, which starts the motorand shifts valve 46 to retract shear knife 16 and transfer arm 20.

The positions of electric eyes 55 and 57 are adjustable so that thelength of the cloth fed from shear knife 16 across transfer platform 40can be varied, and so that the distance of the positive lateral movementor transfer of the cloth across transfer platform 40 can be varied andthe feed and cutting of the apparatus will begin during the next cycleof the apparatus only after electric eye 57 has been cleared.

Conveyor 78 is arranged to move the cloth lengths in the path 29 whichis at right angle to path 12, and comprises a pair of rollers 79 and 80which are arranged to move a plurality of conveyor belts 81 across worktable 82. A pair of support bars 84 and 85 are suspended above worktable 82 at a position close to transfer table 18, and a plurality ofcloth length guides 86 and 88 are suspended from support bars 84 and 85.Cloth length guides 86 comprise rigid straps that are pivotallysupported by support bar 85 and extended back toward transfer table 18and allowed to pivot down into engagement with the conveyor belts. Theends of the guides 86 are turned upwardly so that the cloth lengthsbeing moved from transfer table 18 onto conveyor 78 tend to move beneathguides 86 and are gently urged into positive contact with the conveyorbelts 81. Guides 88 are connected to support bar 84 and comprise rollerchains having enlarged rollers that are allowed to contact conveyorbelts 81. The arrangement is such that the cloth lengths will naturallytend to pass between guides 88 and their corresponding conveyor belts81, and the cloth lengths will also be gently urged into positivecontact with the conveyor belts. Thus, guides 86 and 88 function tocause conveyor belts 81 to gently but positively grip the cloth lengthsas they are moved from transfer table 18.

First and second sewing machines 22 and 32 are located at the right edge89 of work table 82, with sewing machine 32 being displaced behindsewing machine 22. Sewing machines 22 and 32 also include first andsecond trimming means 21 and 31 (not shown in FIG. 2).

Chain cutting means 26 and 36 (FlG. 1) are located beneath slots 91 and92 in work table 82, and the cutting mechanisms (not shown) tend to cutthe chainstitching that drops into the slots. in order to induce thechainstitching to drop into the slots, the slots are connected to theinlet of a fan, such as fan 94. Slots 91 and 92 are sized, positioned,and shaped to receive the chainstitching and to reject the clothlengths. The cutting mechanism utilized beneath slots 91 and 92 can beof various different conventional constructions such as a high-speedrotary blade mounted on a rotatable drum that cuts by impact or byscissors action. The chainstitching cut by the cutting mechanism will beinduced to flow through slots 91 and 92 and toward blower 94, where thismaterial is accumulated and periodically discharged by means of acollecting bag (not shown).

Blower header 96 is positioned along left edge of work table 82 anddefines an opening or a plurality of openings directed across work table82. Fan 98 is connected to header 96 through valve 99 and valve 99 iscontrolled by solenoid 100. Solenoid 100 functions in response toelectric eye 101 and light source 102. When electric eye 101 detects thepresence of a cloth length on conveyor 78 by the blockage of light fromlight source 102, solenoid 100 is energized to open the valve 99 andallow fan 98 to pressurize header 96. This results in a stream or flowof air 28 from header 96 across work table 82.

Folding rod 24 is mounted generally centrally of the width of work table82 and is supported in cantilever fashion by support bars 84 and 85 sothat it is suspended above work table 82 and extends along path 19. Thecloth lengths moving along path 19 will pass beneath folding rod 24 andthe airstream 28 from header 96 will tend to flip the end of the clothlengths between header 96 and folding rod 24 over folding rod 24. Theposition of folding rod 24 will be carefully maintained so that its edge104 is positioned slightly to the right of the center of the clothlengths, so that the flipping or folding movement created by airstream28 and folding rod 24 will result in the cut ends 28 of the clothlengths being positioned beyond the cut ends 20. With this arrangement,cut ends 20 will be passed through first sewing machine 22 and cut ends28 will be passed through second sewing machine 32 which is displacedbehind sewing machine 22. Thus, second sewing machine 32 will functionto hem cut ends 28 without making contact with cut ends 20.

Transfer table 18 includes an air plenum chamber beneath transferplatform 40 and fan 105 tends to pressurize the plenum chamber. Aplurality of spaced openings 106 are defined in transfer platform 40.Spaced openings 106 are angled or sloped in the direction of path 12,which is generally away from feed roller 15 and shear knife 16 and atright angles to path 19 of conveyor 78. The angle of openings 106 isapproximately 30 from the vertical and the air from the plenum chamberof transfer table 18 is moved gently through openings 106 in a directionthat tends to lift the cloth from transfer platform 40 and move thecloth in the direction of path 12, thus tending to stretch the clothaway from feed roller 15 along path 12. This causes the leading end ofthe cloth to move along path 12 from reed roller 15 beneath shear knife16 and over transfer table 18 toward electric eye 55, in spite of theabsence of any positive drive mechanisms beyond feed roller 15. Thus,the cloth will move properly along path 12 between each cycle of shearknife 16 and transfer arm 20.

While electric eyes 55 and 57 have been disclosed as being in control ofthe movement of transfer arm 20, shear knife 16 and feed roller 15, itshould be obvious that individual electric eyes can be utilized tocontrol the functions of each of the various components. Moreover, whilea single air pressure source 45 has been disclosed as communicatingthrough a single valve 46 to control all of the rams 44, 61 and 65,various other flow arrangements can be utilized so that these rams areindependently controlled with respect to each other. Also, while motor56 is disclosed as a belt drive mechanism controlling the movements offeed roller 15, obviously similar drive mechanisms can be utilized forpull rollers 14 and the drive mechanisms can be driven in response toother control means, such as by a weight pan for pull rollers 14 and bya measuring wheel or other device for feed roller 15. Moreover, whileelectric eyes 55, 57 and 101 have been disclosed as the sensing meansfor determinating the presence or absence of a cloth length on transfertable18 and on conveyor 7 8, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various other sensing mechanisms can be utilized, such asmicroswitches, airflow detectors, measuring wheels, etc. Also, while asingle header 96 has been disclosed to create the desired airstream 28that flips or folds the cloth lengths, various other and differentairflow arrangements can be utilized as may be desired.

While FIG. 2 discloses feeding the cloth lengths onto transfer table 18with feed roller 15 and with the use of the air streams flowing throughthe openings 106 in the transfer platform 40, FIG. 3 discloses analternate feeding mechanism. Feed brush 110 includes pneumatic cylinder111, brush rod 112 and brush 114. Brush rod 112 and pneumatic cylinder111 are long enough so that brush 114 can reach from its retractedfull-line position to the extended position shown in dashed lines, whichis just beyond shear knife 16a. Transfer platform 40a is constructedwithout the air openings shown in FIG. 2 so that a smooth top surface ispresented for brush 114 and the cloth to slide over. While pneumaticcylinder 111 functions as a transfer ram, upright pneumatic cylinderfunctions as an engaging rarn so that the movement of brush 114 withrespect to transfer platfonn 40a is somewhat similar to the movement oftransfer arm 20a, previously described. Brush 1 14 is maintained out ofengagement with transfer platform 40a by engaging ram 115 as the brushis extended toward its dashed-line position. When the brush reaches itsdashedline position, engaging ram 115 lowers the brush so that itsbristles 116 impale and otherwise engage the leading edge of thecontinuous length of cloth, and transfer ram 111 reverses and begins topull brush 114 across transfer platform 40a. The bristles 116 of brush114 will normally be angled so as to extend from the brush generally ina downward direction and inclined in the direction extending back towardtransfer ram 111 so as to tightly grasp the continuous length of clothat its leading edge. When brush 114 reaches its retracted position,transfer ram 111 will terminate its movement and engaging ram 115 willlift brush 114 out of engagement with the cloth.

The schematic electrical and pneumatic illustration of FIG. 3illustrates that the same basic circuitry and flow arrangement isutilized to operate pneumatic cutting ram 44a and the rams 61a and 65aof transfer arm 20a. The motor or clutch mechanism and feed roll of FIG.2 are replaced with feed brush 110 of FIG. 3, and solenoid 118 is placedin the circuitry so as to be responsive electric eyes 55a and 57a.Solenoid 118 operates air control valve 119 which regulates the flow ofair from air source 120. Reversing valve 121 is controlled by itssolenoid 122 which is responsive to electric eye 124 which is placedclosely adjacent shear knife 16a. Electric eye 124 senses the presenceof brush 114 as it moves beneath shear blade 16a, and continues in itssensing function as the brush draws the cloth across transfer platform40a until shear knife 16a cuts the cloth.

The arrangement of the circuitry and flow system of FIG. 3 is such thatwhen electric eyes 55a and 57a and 1124 see light, relay 53a closes itsswitch and energizes solenoids 54a and 118. Solenoid 54a shifts itsvalve 46a so that air from source a flows to the bottom of cutting ram44a, to the bottom of engaging ram 65a, and to the front of transfer ram61a. This causes shear knife 16a and transfer arm 20a to be retracted.

Solenoid 118 causes its valve 119 to shift so that the flow of air fromsource 120 will pass through conduit 126 and reversing valve 121 to therear of transfer ram 111 and to the lower end of engaging ram 115. Thesystem will stay in this configuration until electric eye 124 is blockedfrom its light source by the presence of brush 114 reaching beneathshear knife 16a, whereupon solenoid 122 functions to shift reversingvalve 121. This causes the air from source 120 and valve 119 to bediverted to the upper end of engaging ram 115 and to the forward end oftransfer ram 111, which causes brush 114 to move down into engagementwith the cloth and begin to drag the cloth across transfer platform 40a.When brush 1 14 moves the cloth in this manner, the cloth will continueto block the light from electric eye 124 so that the movement of brush114 will continue. If the brush 114 should fail to properly engage thecloth, electric eye 124 will again be exposed and operate its solenoid122 and shift reversing valve 121 to reverse the movements of engagingram 115 and transfer ram 111 to attempt to obtain a better grip of thecloth.

As brush 114 carries the cloth across transfer platform 40a the electriceye 57a will be blocked from its light source; however, the blocking ofelectric eye 57a will have no effect in the system since the contact ofrelay 53a is down and maintains the circuit from electric eye 57a open.As brush 114 reaches electric eye 55a, relay 53a will be operated tolift its contact from the circuits made to solenoids 54a and 1 18, whichdeactivatesthese solenoids, and to close the circuit from electric eye57a. When solenoid 54a is deenergized, the spring of control valve 46afunctions to shift the valve so that the air flowing from source 45afunctions to actuate cutting ram 440, engaging 'ram 65a and transferrarn 61a. Thus, shear knife 16a functions to cut a length of cloth fromthe continuous supply of cloth and transfer arm 20a is moved down intoengagement with the cut length of cloth and pushes the cloth onto-theconveyor. Since the initial movement of transfer arm of 20a will tendtouncover electric eye 55a, the circuit from electric eye 55a to relay53a will be open; however, the circuit from electric eye 57a functionsas a holding circuit to maintain the contact of relay 53a in its upperposition until the cloth length is moved substantially off transferplatform 40a whereupon electric eye 57a is again exposed and functionsto drop relay 53a and reenergize solenoids 54a and 118 to begin the nextcycle of operation. In the meantime, however, when solenoid 118 isdeenergized by the operation of relay 53a, valve 119 is shifted sothatthe air source 120 sill communicate with conduit 127. Sincereversing valve 121 had already been reversed by the blockage of lightto electric eye 124, the air would tend to flow to the rear of transferram 111 and to the lower end of engaging ram 115, to begin the nextcycle of feed brush 110; however, when shear knife l6a makes its cut,electric eye 124 is almost immediately exposed to its light source,which causes reversing valve 121 to shift back to the position asillustrated,

- so that the air flowing from source 120 communicates with the forwardend of transfer ram 11 1 and the lower end of engaging ram to maintainbrush 114 elevated and retracted, and waiting for the cloth to betransferred off of transfer platform 40a. Of course, when the cloth isremoved from transfer platform 400 to expose electric eye 57a, relay 53awill be dropped to start the next cycle of operation.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3 is arranged so thattension is applied to the cloth as it is moved onto transfer platform40a and any creases or folds that extend transversely across the lengthof cloth will be stretched open, and a true length of the cloth will bemeasured from shear knife 16 to the point where electric eye 55a isblocked. By contrast, the embodiment of the invention illustrated inFIG. 2 allows the lateral creases of the cloth to be generallyundisturbed by the feeding of the cloth across the transfer platform.

As is set forth with respect to FIG. 2, it will be understood that thevarious electric eyes, the electrical circuitry and pneumatic flowarrangement can be altered and the identical or similar function can beachieved.

While the inventions are disclosed as functioning to hem the ends of cutlengths of cloth, it should be understood that various otheredge-treating means can be utilized for treating the cut ends. Forinstance, the cut ends can be coated with a liquid substance, such as athermosetting liquid, solvent liquid nylon, a resin, or any suitableliquid which has properties compatible with the use to which the clothlengths are to be used. Moreover, any conventional liquid applicatormeans can be used to apply the liquid to the cut ends of the clothlengths, such as rotatable grooved wiping wheels, spray devices, etc.,which would be substituted for the sewing machines 22 and 32.

While this invention has been described in detail with particularreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scopeof the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for fabricating lengths of cloth from a continuous supplyof cloth comprising a transfer platform, feed means for feeding the endof the continuous supply of cloth in a first direction onto saidtransfer platform, sensing means for determining when a predeterminedlength of cloth has been fed onto said transfer platform, cutting meansresponsive to said sensing means for cutting the length of cloth on saidtransfer platform from the supply of cloth, conveyor means for movingthe length of cloth in a second direction generally normal to the firstdirection, transfer means responsive to said sensing means for engagingthe cut length of cloth and urging the cut length of cloth from saidtransfer platform toward said conveyor means, first edge-treating meanspositioned adjacent one side of said conveyor means for treating one cutedge of the cut length of cloth as the cut length of cloth moves in thesecond direction, folding means for folding the other out edge of thecut length of cloth across the length of the cut length of cloth as thecut length of cloth continues to move the second direction, and secondedge-treating means positioned adjacent said one side of said conveyormeans for treating the other out edge of the cut length of cloth as thecut length of cloth continues to move in the second direction.

2, The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said transfer platform defines aplurality of spaced openings through its surface and means for flowingair upwardly through said openings.

3 The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said transfer means comprises acloth-engaging member, first pneumatic cylinder means for moving saidcloth-engaging member in a downward direction toward said transferplatform into engagement with a length of cloth on said transferplatform, second pneumatic cylinder means for urging said cloth-engagingmeans across said transfer platform toward said conveyor means, andmeans for adjusting the position of said second pneumatic cylinder meanswith respect to said platform.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said folding means comprises afolding rod supported in a cantilever arrangement with its free endextending above and in the direction of movement of said conveyor means,and an air blower arranged to blow air generally across said conveyormeans and flip the other cut edge of the cloth across said folding rod.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 and wherein said first and secondedge-treating means comprise hemming means constructed and arranged toform a thread chain between the edges of the cut length of cloth, andfurther comprising cutting means along the said one side of saidconveyor means for cutting the thread chains.

6. A method of hemming or otherwise treating cut ends of cloth lengthscomprising moving flat unfolded cloth lengths in series through ahorizontal path with the cut ends of the cloth lengths extending alongthe direction of the path, sequentially treating one cut end of eachcloth length as it moves along its path, folding more than one-half thelength of each cloth length across its length to position its untreatedcut end beyond the treated cut end, and treating the other cut end ofeach cloth length.

7. The method of claim 6 and wherein the step of folding the clothlengths comprises passing the cloth length beneath a cantilever foldingrod, urging the other cut end of the cloth length over the folding rodwith a flow of air, and passing the length of cloth off the end of thefolding bar.

8. A continuous method of fabricating lengths of cloth from a continuoussupply of cloth comprising feeding a generally continuous length ofcloth from a supply along a first path, continually cuttingpredetermined lengths of t e cloth away from the continuous length ofcloth as the cloth moves along the first path, moving the cut lengths ofcloth along a second path approximately normal to the first path withoutchanging the attitude of the lengths of cloth, hemming one of the cutends of each length of cloth as each length of cloth moves along thesecond path, folding each length of cloth so that its other cut endextends beyond its hemmed end, and hemming the second cut end of eachlength of cloth.

9. The method of claim 8 and wherein the step of feeding the generallycontinuous length of cloth from a supply along a first path comprisesfeeding the leading end of the continuous length of cloth past a cuttingdevice until a predetermined length of the cloth has been moved past thecutting device, and terminating the feeding of the continuous length ofcloth until the step of cutting the cloth has occurred and the step ofmoving the predetermined length of cloth along the second path hasbegun.

10. The method of claim 8 and wherein the step of moving each length ofcloth along a second path is initiated by engaging the top surface ofeach length of cloth with a cloth-engaging member and urging the lengthsof cloth in a direction transverse with respect to the direction ofmovement of the first path.

1. Apparatus for fabricating lengths of cloth from a continuous supplyof cloth comprising a transfer platform, feed means for feeding the endof the continuous supply of cloth in a first direction onto saidtransfer platform, sensing means for determining when a predeterminedlength of cloth has been fed onto said transfer platform, cutting meansresponsive To said sensing means for cutting the length of cloth on saidtransfer platform from the supply of cloth, conveyor means for movingthe length of cloth in a second direction generally normal to the firstdirection, transfer means responsive to said sensing means for engagingthe cut length of cloth and urging the cut length of cloth from saidtransfer platform toward said conveyor means, first edge-treating meanspositioned adjacent one side of said conveyor means for treating one cutedge of the cut length of cloth as the cut length of cloth moves in thesecond direction, folding means for folding the other cut edge of thecut length of cloth across the length of the cut length of cloth as thecut length of cloth continues to move the second direction, and secondedge-treating means positioned adjacent said one side of said conveyormeans for treating the other cut edge of the cut length of cloth as thecut length of cloth continues to move in the second direction.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 and wherein said transfer platform defines aplurality of spaced openings through its surface and means for flowingair upwardly through said openings.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 andwherein said transfer means comprises a cloth-engaging member, firstpneumatic cylinder means for moving said cloth-engaging member in adownward direction toward said transfer platform into engagement with alength of cloth on said transfer platform, second pneumatic cylindermeans for urging said cloth-engaging means across said transfer platformtoward said conveyor means, and means for adjusting the position of saidsecond pneumatic cylinder means with respect to said platform.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 1 and wherein said folding means comprises a foldingrod supported in a cantilever arrangement with its free end extendingabove and in the direction of movement of said conveyor means, and anair blower arranged to blow air generally across said conveyor means andflip the other cut edge of the cloth across said folding rod.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1 and wherein said first and second edge-treatingmeans comprise hemming means constructed and arranged to form a threadchain between the edges of the cut length of cloth, and furthercomprising cutting means along the said one side of said conveyor meansfor cutting the thread chains.
 6. A method of hemming or otherwisetreating cut ends of cloth lengths comprising moving flat unfolded clothlengths in series through a horizontal path with the cut ends of thecloth lengths extending along the direction of the path, sequentiallytreating one cut end of each cloth length as it moves along its path,folding more than one-half the length of each cloth length across itslength to position its untreated cut end beyond the treated cut end, andtreating the other cut end of each cloth length.
 7. The method of claim6 and wherein the step of folding the cloth lengths comprises passingthe cloth length beneath a cantilever folding rod, urging the other cutend of the cloth length over the folding rod with a flow of air, andpassing the length of cloth off the end of the folding bar.
 8. Acontinuous method of fabricating lengths of cloth from a continuoussupply of cloth comprising feeding a generally continuous length ofcloth from a supply along a first path, continually cuttingpredetermined lengths of the cloth away from the continuous length ofcloth as the cloth moves along the first path, moving the cut lengths ofcloth along a second path approximately normal to the first path withoutchanging the attitude of the lengths of cloth, hemming one of the cutends of each length of cloth as each length of cloth moves along thesecond path, folding each length of cloth so that its other cut endextends beyond its hemmed end, and hemming the second cut end of eachlength of cloth.
 9. The method of claim 8 and wherein the step offeeding the generally continuous length of cloth from a supply along afirst path comprises feeding the leading end of the continuous length ofcloth past a cutting device until a predetermined length of the clothhas been moved past the cutting device, and terminating the feeding ofthe continuous length of cloth until the step of cutting the cloth hasoccurred and the step of moving the predetermined length of cloth alongthe second path has begun.
 10. The method of claim 8 and wherein thestep of moving each length of cloth along a second path is initiated byengaging the top surface of each length of cloth with a cloth-engagingmember and urging the lengths of cloth in a direction transverse withrespect to the direction of movement of the first path.